Gelb reports that animal control is on the way. Meanwhile, Ruben Amaro is frantically trying to ink the possum to a three-year, $39 million deal with a large vesting option to be Ryan Howard‘s platoon partner before he is captured, however.

That’s no possum. That’s a giant rat. And he’s more reputable than the garbage that Matt Gelb and his cronies write on philly.com. The only thing rabid here is their daily rantings on how bad the Phillies will be this year.

I think that’s a very fetching representative of Family Didelphidae. Not a rat at all. But I can see why you might be taken in and think that’s a rat. He’s baseball Phan, my friend. Let us be charitable and treat him with the respect that all Phans deserve. And, if Ruin Tomorrow Jr. (as you phellow Phans so amusingly refer to him) signs him to a 3 year gig to platoon with Mr. Howard, at least you can console yourself with the knowledge that he’ll be good eating if anyone needs a snack.

It’s a possum. They’re not as nocturnal as raccoons and they occasionally do forage in daylight if they are aware that food is available – usually, fallen fruit. The ones in our yard are opportunistic that way, as most possums in the suburbs tend to be.

They need to erect a scoreboard to keep outsiders from being able to see game action without paying. Of course they’ll need approval of city council and they’ll probably get sued by adjoining property owners selling tickets to the possums.

on my way to get some lunch today, i saw a car tooling down the road, completely oblivious, with one those little plastic road construction pylons somehow wedged into one of its front wheel wells. sort of like the car came out of the bathroom with toilet paper sticking to its shoe.

A platoon for Howard!? Amaro is doing all he can to make sure Howard is the only 1B on the roster and bats 4th. Platoon he says, Amaro laughs at your stupid idea of a platoon. If Howard plays 162 games the Phillies will be world series contenders. Amaro’s hopes hinge on Ryan Howard playing like it’s 2006. If anyone is going to get platooned it’s that hot shot Brown.